DIETARY FATTY ACIDS, TOCOTRIENOLS AND CANCER

High-fat diets may increase the risk of cancer at sites such as the breast, colon, pancreas and prostate, although the evidence is somewhat mixed. The type of fat can affect its influence on cancer in experimental animals, but in humans on diets of mixed foodstuffs the quantity rather than the quality of fat is likely to be more important. Dietary fat may influence carcinogenesis by altering energy balance and in mammary cancer the effects may be mediated by the mammary adipose tissue. A variety of minor dietary components have been reported to possess anti-cancer activity. Among these compounds, tocotrienols and flavonoids have been shown in our laboratory to inhibit proliferation of human breast cancer cells in culture, and to act synergistically with each other and with tamoxifen in the inhibition of these cells. This suggests that such combinations may be useful for prevention and/or treatment of breast cancer.